McCain to take stock of Valley in April 22 visit

By David Skolnick

This would be the candidate’s first visit to the Mahoning Valley since August 2006.

YOUNGSTOWN — John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will visit the Youngstown area April 22, according to his campaign.

The area stop is part of a four- to five-day tour McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, is making to locations Republicans typically don’t visit, a campaign official said.

Other locations include Thomasville, a rural city in Alabama, where the McCain tour starts April 21.

McCain is expected to discuss the challenges facing the communities he visits, according to his campaign.

“He’s on a fact-finding mission to get firsthand reports from the heartland of America,” said Mark Munroe, Mahoning County Republican Party vice chairman.

The McCain campaign is still working on the time and location of the visit, but it’s expected to be in Youngstown or a surrounding community.

McCain was supposed to hold a fundraiser in Trumbull County in June, said Craig Bonar, that county’s Republican chairman. That event is postponed and is expected to be rescheduled for July, Bonar said.

McCain visited the Mahoning Valley in October 2005 and August 2006 to raise money for then-U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, a fellow Republican and a friend for more than 25 years.

DeWine lost the 2006 race for his seat to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat.

During the August 2006 stop, McCain acknowledged that De-Wine was in for a “tough race” against Brown.

McCain, who hadn’t officially declared his candidacy in August 2006, stressed the importance of Ohio in presidential elections.

“All states are equal, but some are more equal that others,” he said at the time. “... Ohio is a battleground state, and what happens in Ohio impacts the entire United States.”

When asked by The Vindicator in October 2005 about running for president, McCain said: “Do I want to be president? Yes. The question is: ‘Do I want to run to be president?’ That’s a different question.”

He answered that question in the affirmative March 1, 2007, the day he declared his candidacy.

McCain has more than enough delegates to officially be declared the Republican presidential nominee during the party’s national convention, which will be Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, Minn.

McCain’s visit to the area is on the same day as the Pennsylvania primary.

He’ll face the winner of the Democratic race between U.S. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., in the November general election.

Clinton visited the Mahoning Valley three times before the March 4 primary in Ohio. Obama visited the area once.

Clinton won big in the Valley on her way to capturing Ohio’s Democratic primary.

skolnick@vindy.com